Album of the year and anyone who cares to dispute it - outside now!!!!
Not since Oasis first hit the scene in a flurry of headlines and classic
tunes has a band been so relevant to the kids. They talk the language of
the streets and that why the authorities are keen to silence them. After
all would Tony and his cronies really want a band to come out talking about
"robbing" and "clipping" when what it actually does is highlight the reasons
that people turn to crime and violence. With the exception of the notorious
Scat D incident all that So Solid have actually done is to open up the
floor for debate. Perhaps the only reason the media has been quick to pounce
on So Solid while laughing along to the likes of Liam Gallagher punching
journalists or Eminem inciting sexist and homophobic violence is the colour
of their skin. Any of you who are old enough will remember the uproar at
Snoop Doggy Dogg entering the country a few years back to show how hypocritical
the media are.

Like Asian Dub Foundation before them the So Solid Crew are the Real
Great Britain. "They Don't Know" submerges itself in jungle beats, hip
hop culture, a touch of soul music and spits it out in the unique So Solid
sound. This really is the first essential UK Garage album and takes it
a level above the watered down R&B of Craig David or the limp tracks
filling up the charts on a regular basis. If "21 Seconds" was an introduction
to the 30 strong crew then the recent singles "They Don't" and "Haterz"
tackles the problems that come from success - the back biting from the
media and the sycophantic parasites that come out of the woodword after
a piece of the action. Much of "They Don't Know" deals with family and
looking after each other which is something the press have chosen to look
over and like all families its an un-penetratable unit that comes head
and shoulders above everything else. It may seem out of place on an album
so violent full of paranoia but on "Deeper" they push the boat out with
the lyrics "on the scale of 1 to 10, Mum gets 10 - she's like one of the
ravers!!!". As I said before don't take everything at face value as this
album will contradict everything you believe in.

With the media trying harder than ever to push the Best New Band down
you throat every week in the hope that one week they might just get it
right. Lets be honest the media desperation is equivalent to a hardened
gambler winning a bet on the basis that you put a £1 on every horse
anyway. If you seriously believe that the Strokes, Starsailor or The White
Stripes are the future of music you're either seriously deluded or on some
hard-core drugs. It takes guts to out on the scene with something brand
new and while there may be a dozen acts creating more ground breaking music
that these guys you can't compete with them for the sheer size of it all.
So Solid Crew are the first true 21st Century act we have to believe in
and with half a dozen solo albums due to hit the shops next year So Solid
are certainly around here for the long haul.